GROW with SAP Licensing Model – Subscription Pricing for SMBs

GROW with SAP Licensing Model

SAP’s “GROW with SAP” offering is designed to bring cloud ERP to small and mid-sized businesses with straightforward, subscription-based pricing.

This guide breaks down how GROW with SAP works – from its package structure and user licensing model to pricing examples, scaling options, and negotiation tips – all in a conversational, executive-friendly tone.

Whether you’re a CFO, CIO, IT director, or procurement manager at an SMB, read on for a practical look at GROW with SAP’s subscription model and how to make the most of it.

Read our guide to Grow with SAP Licensing.

GROW with SAP at a Glance

GROW with SAP is a relatively new licensing model (launched in 2023) tailored for small and mid-sized enterprises looking for a fast track to SAP’s cloud ERP. It centers on SAP S/4HANA Cloud (public edition) delivered in a pre-configured package.

In plain terms, SAP has taken its flagship cloud ERP and repackaged it in a way that’s easier to buy, implement, and afford for growing businesses.

The philosophy is to keep things simple and scalable – you get the essential ERP functions via a SaaS subscription, without the heavy upfront costs or complexity of traditional deployments.

Key highlights of GROW with SAP include: quick cloud deployment (often in a matter of weeks), a lean scope that covers standard finance/procurement/sales processes, and a subscription fee that bundles the software and necessary cloud infrastructure.

It’s aimed at companies roughly below $1 billion in revenue, including those new to SAP (perhaps migrating from QuickBooks or legacy small-business ERPs) and those who need a modern system without a multimillion-dollar project.

If that sounds like your organization – wanting robust capabilities but on a budget and tight timeline – GROW with SAP is positioned as an “out-of-the-box” solution to get you live quickly.

Package Structure: Base vs. Premium Editions

SAP offers GROW with SAP in two editions: Base Edition and Premium Edition.

These define what functionality you get out of the box:

• GROW Base Edition – Core ERP essentials for smaller businesses. The Base package provides the standard S/4HANA Cloud public edition features, including core financials, procurement, sales, and inventory management, all aligned with best practices. It also includes a starter set of SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) credits and some integration basics (for example, basic SAP Ariba procurement capabilities for simple purchasing). The Base edition is the affordable entry point, designed for companies that require a solid ERP foundation without unnecessary extras. It keeps the scope lean, allowing you to focus on implementing standard processes.
• GROW Premium Edition – Expanded suite for growing midsize companies. The Premium package builds on the Base by adding a broader range of SAP cloud modules. In Premium, you get everything in Base plus extras like integrated analytics and planning (SAP Analytics Cloud for budgeting/forecasting), basic CRM capabilities with SAP Sales Cloud, and travel and expense management through Concur. You also typically get expanded financial management features and possibly a larger allotment of BTP credits for custom extensions. Premium is for organizations that want a more comprehensive ERP-as-a-service, bundling in those additional line-of-business tools from SAP. Naturally, it comes at a higher subscription cost than Base, but it can be more cost-effective than buying those modules standalone later.

Both editions are delivered as multi-tenant SaaS (public cloud), meaning SAP takes care of hosting, system maintenance, and quarterly upgrades.

Infrastructure is included in the subscription fee for both Base and Premium – you don’t need to worry about separate server or database costs.

The main difference is scope: Base = lean and focused, Premium = more feature-rich. Importantly, you can start with Base and later upgrade to Premium if you find you need those extra modules as your business grows.

Pricing Breakdown: Base vs Premium Editions

SAP uses a transparent tiered pricing model for GROW with SAP.

The cost is based primarily on the number of users (measured in Full User Equivalents (FUEs) – more on that in the next section) you need, and it follows a volume-based discount structure: the more users you have, the lower the per-user price.

The Base edition has a lower price per user than the Premium edition, reflecting the additional functionality included in the Premium edition.

To illustrate the pricing structure, here’s an overview comparing GROW Base and Premium editions:

Note: The above figures are illustrative estimates based on SAP’s standard price list and typical scenarios. Actual pricing will vary, and negotiated discounts can substantially reduce these costs (more on negotiation tactics later).

A key point from the table: GROW with SAP requires a minimum subscription size – roughly 15 users for Base or 25 users for Premium.

This establishes a minimum annual cost. For example, even if you only have 10 actual users, SAP would still likely quote you for the 15 FUE minimum on Base edition.

In financial terms, at the list price, that Base minimum might translate to roughly $500/user × 15 users × 12 months = $90,000 per year as a starting point.

Premium’s higher minimum (25 users at a higher unit price) means the starting cost is higher – on the order of a few hundred thousand per year at list rates.

These are ballpark figures, but they help set expectations: an entry-level GROW deal will typically be a six-figure annual commitment.

The good news is that this fee covers both software licensing and cloud infrastructure, and it can be treated as an operating expense spread over the contract term, rather than a big upfront capital expense.

Cost Components: What does the GROW subscription fee include? It’s mostly software-as-a-service costs:

• S/4HANA Cloud Software License: This is the core of the fee – essentially renting the SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP software for your users.
• Cloud Infrastructure & Maintenance: Because it’s a public cloud SaaS, SAP provides the hosting, system administration, and regular updates. These costs are baked into the subscription. You won’t pay separately for servers, databases, or routine upgrades – SAP handles those.
• Standard Support: Basic support (e.g., access to SAP help desk, patches, and the community) is typically included. All quarterly upgrades are applied automatically by SAP. For most SMBs, this standard support is sufficient, though SAP offers premium support tiers at extra cost if needed.
• SAP BTP Credits: Both editions include some credits for the SAP Business Technology Platform, which can be used if you need to build minor extensions, integrations, or use SAP’s low-code tools. It’s a nice-to-have feature that allows for some flexibility in meeting custom needs without requiring a separate platform purchase (within limits).
• Included Add-Ons: In Premium, the cost of SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Sales Cloud, and Concur (professional edition) is included in the bundle. You’re essentially paying a higher per-user fee to get those capabilities baked in. This is often cheaper than trying to license each of those separately as standalone subscriptions.

What’s not included in the GROW subscription? Primarily, the implementation services and any heavy-duty consulting or data migration assistance. GROW is sold as “ready-to-run,” but that doesn’t mean you can go live with zero effort.

You will likely engage an SAP implementation partner (or SAP services team) to configure the system, migrate your data, and train users.

Those partner fees are outside the subscription and need to be budgeted for.

The advantage of GROW is that, because the scope is standardized, implementation is faster and tends to cost less than a large custom ERP project – but it’s not free.

Additionally, if you decide you need other SAP cloud products that aren’t in the GROW bundle (for example, SAP SuccessFactors for HR or an industry-specific add-on), those would come with separate subscriptions.

SAP often offers “GROW-exclusive” discounts or promotions on certain add-ons to encourage customers to stick with the SAP ecosystem as they expand. Be sure to ask about any special offers if you need to extend functionality.

User Licensing Model (FUEs and User Types)

GROW with SAP uses SAP’s Full User Equivalent (FUE) licensing metric, which is also used in RISE with SAP and other S/4HANA Cloud contracts.

This concept can be confusing at first, but it’s essentially a way to normalize different types of users into a single metric for pricing.

Here’s how it works:

• Each user is classified based on their usage level or role (often aligned to license types like Professional, Functional, or Self-Service user).
• A full business user – someone who uses the system extensively (e.g. an accountant or supply chain planner) – might count as 1.0 FUE.
• A lighter user – perhaps an employee who just enters time or looks up basic info – might count as 0.5 FUE or even 0.1 FUE.
• SAP provides definitions for these roles and how they aggregate into FUEs. The total FUE count is then used to calculate the subscription price.

For example, if you have 10 heavy users (10 FUEs) and 20 occasional users at 0.1 FUE each (2 FUEs), your total would be 12 FUEs. SAP’s GROW pricing tiers would charge based on that total FUE number.

In practice, for small deals, most of your users might be full FUEs unless you deliberately classify some as “limited access.” One benefit of this model is flexibility – you can mix user types to optimize cost.

Tip: Be sure to align user roles properly. Not everyone needs a full Professional user license. If some users only approve purchase orders or view reports, ensure they are counted as a lighter user type.

This can reduce your total FUE count and save cost. It’s a form of internal license optimization.

Another point related to user licensing: Indirect Access.

In traditional SAP licensing, concerns arose about fees for indirect usage (e.g., when non-SAP systems access SAP data).

With cloud subscriptions like GROW, those worries are largely alleviated – your subscription covers authorized usage of the system, including through APIs or integrations, as long as it’s within the scope of your user count.

In short, you won’t typically need to pay extra because you connected a third-party tool to your SAP cloud, as was sometimes the case with old on-premise licenses.

Nonetheless, it’s wise to have SAP clarify that in the contract (to ensure, for example, that if you connect an e-commerce website or a CRM system to S/4HANA, you’re not going to get hit with surprise charges).

Subscription Terms and Commitments

When you sign up for GROW with SAP, expect a multi-year subscription contract. The norm is a minimum term of 3 years, though some customers opt for 5 years to secure better rates. SAP likes longer commitments (for predictable revenue) and often offers better discounts if you agree to a longer term up front.

As an SMB, you’ll need to balance commitment vs flexibility – a 5-year deal might give you a lower annual price, but you’ll want to be sure SAP includes safeguards (like price protections) for those later years.

Key aspects of the subscription terms to be aware of:

• Contract Length: Typically 3 years standard. A 5-year term can be negotiated for improved pricing. Avoid very short terms (1 year) – SAP usually won’t go for that on a GROW deal, since they invest in onboarding you and expect a longer relationship.
• Renewal Clauses: This is very important. What happens at the end of your term? Many cloud contracts include built-in price increases (e.g., a 5-7% increase at renewal, unless otherwise negotiated). You should negotiate a cap on renewal price increases. For instance, try to lock in that any renewal increase cannot exceed say 3% per year or that you can renew at the same discount percentage off list price that you initially had. This prevents “sticker shock” after year 3. The last thing you want as a CFO is a surprise 20% jump in year 4 because you didn’t lock in renewal terms.
• Minimum User Count: As discussed, there’s a minimum FUE commitment (15 or 25, depending on edition). Ensure this aligns with your actual needs. Don’t over-commit users just to get a slightly lower unit price – you’ll end up paying for unused licenses (“shelfware”). It’s often wiser to start with what you truly need and negotiate the ability to add users at the same rate later.
• Adding Users or Upgrading Mid-Term: Clarify how scaling works during the contract. If you add more users in year 2, will they be priced at the same rate per user as the initial ones (usually yes, if you negotiate that)? If you decide to upgrade from Base to Premium edition mid-term (for example, if you originally didn’t have Concur but now want it), discuss with SAP how that conversion would be handled. Ideally, you want a pre-defined pricing for additional users or an edition upgrade written into the contract, so you’re not renegotiating from scratch at a disadvantage later.
• Exit and Termination: While nobody enters a contract expecting to back out, it’s good governance to know your exit options. Typically, with GROW, you’re committing for the full term. Early termination usually isn’t allowed without hefty penalties (you’d owe the remaining subscription fees). However, do ensure that if things went south after the term, you have the right to retrieve your data in a usable format. SAP will retain your production data for a period after contract end – get clarity on how long and in what format you can get a backup. Also, verify the process if you choose to move to a different SAP offering later (for example, moving from GROW’s public cloud to a private cloud or on-premise solution) – you’d want any existing investment to carry over where possible.
• Support and Service Level: Since SAP is the cloud provider, the contract may include service levels (such as uptime guarantees, etc.). For a standard public cloud, these are usually generic (e.g, 99.5% uptime). SMBs on GROW might not have much room to negotiate custom SLAs, but be aware of them. The key point is that SAP is responsible for maintaining the system’s operation. Make sure you understand what support you get by default (and how to access it), and what would incur extra fees (e.g. if you wanted a dedicated support manager or faster response times, that’s usually extra).

In summary, read the fine print of the GROW subscription contract.

It’s simpler than SAP’s larger enterprise agreements, but you still need to watch for things like auto-renewal terms, price indexation (some contracts tie annual price increases to an inflation index), and so on.

With good negotiation (next section), you can lock in a predictable cost over the life of the agreement.

Scaling Up and Upgrade Options

As the name implies, “GROW” with SAP is designed to scale with you.

Here’s how you can expand or upgrade as your business evolves:

• Adding More Users: You can increase your FUE count as your workforce or usage grows. Ideally, your contract locks in the pricing tiers, so if you jump from, say, 20 FUE to 50 FUE, the additional 30 users are charged at the lower tier rate (volume discount). Always communicate anticipated growth to SAP during negotiations – if you expect to double your users in 2 years, try to secure those future users at a known rate now.
• Upgrading from Base to Premium Edition: If you started on Base edition and later realize you need one of the Premium features (e.g., advanced planning or Concur), SAP will certainly allow an upgrade. The cost will adjust to the Premium pricing tier for all your users (sometimes they might let you split – e.g,. only certain users get the premium functionality – but usually the edition is at a contract level). It’s wise to negotiate the terms of an edition upgrade upfront. For example, you might ask for the right to convert to Premium in the future with a predefined price adder or discount, rather than at whatever list price is later. This way, there are no surprises if you choose to unlock those extra modules down the road.
• Adding Other SAP Cloud Services: Beyond the GROW bundle, you might later want to add solutions like SuccessFactors (for HR), Ariba (beyond the basic procurement in GROW), or others. While these aren’t part of GROW, SAP sales teams can bundle proposals. When you’re on a GROW contract, SAP has an interest in growing your account. You can often negotiate co-term agreements (align the new product’s subscription term with your GROW term) and even get a better rate since you’re an existing customer. Don’t be shy about leveraging your status as a GROW customer to get “bundle” discounts on new modules.
• Transition to RISE or Private Cloud: It may be far off, but consider an exit strategy if you truly outgrow the GROW model. If, in 5 years, your company is significantly larger and requires customization or a private environment, SAP would likely propose moving you to RISE with SAP or another offering. When starting on GROW, try to include a clause that makes such a transition smoother – for instance, ensuring you get credit for your remaining term or a pricing transition that isn’t punitive. SAP’s goal is to keep you in the family, so they usually work with you on migrations, but it’s good to have it spelled out. In essence, you want the freedom to “graduate” to a bigger SAP solution without feeling locked in or having to pay double.
• Geographic or Subsidiary Expansion: If your business expands to new regions, note that GROW with SAP is a public cloud – it can support multi-country operations (with localizations) up to a point. There’s no direct limitation on adding users globally, but extremely large or complex multinational needs might push you toward a different model eventually. Within the mid-market scope, though, you can roll out the same GROW system to new subsidiaries easily by just adding users and subscribing to additional country localizations (SAP S/4HANA Cloud supports many country-specific versions as part of the software).

In short, scaling with GROW is usually just a matter of upping the subscription – one of the nice parts of SaaS. Just ensure that your contract and relationship with SAP are set up for easy scaling without any nasty surprises in costs.

Negotiation Tactics for GROW with SAP

Even though GROW with SAP is positioned as a straightforward, fixed package, everything is negotiable when it comes to enterprise software.

Here are some negotiation tips to ensure you get the best deal for your organization:

• Leverage Volume for Discounts: SAP’s list prices are just a starting point. If you’re bringing, say, 40 users to the table (which is above the 25 Premium minimum), ask SAP what pricing would look like at the next tier. It’s often possible to get a lower per-user rate by slightly overstating your needs (e.g., committing to 50 users instead of 40) if you know you’ll reach that count. Essentially, you lock in a bulk discount now for anticipated growth. Just be careful not to over-commit far beyond your needs.
• Multi-Year Commitment as Bargaining Chip: A longer term can yield a better discount. If you’re comfortable with SAP and plan to stick with it, consider proposing a 5-year contract instead of 3, in exchange for a larger upfront discount or free extras. SAP loves longer contracts – you can use that to squeeze more value, like a bigger initial discount or a cap on price increases for those extra years.
• Negotiate Renewal Caps: As mentioned earlier, don’t leave renewal pricing open-ended. During the initial deal, get agreement on a maximum percentage increase at renewal time or a clause that maintains your discount level. For example, negotiate something like “We get to renew at the same 30% off list that we have now” or “annual increases will not exceed 3%”. This prevents budget surprises down the road.
• Ask About Promotions and Incentives: Since GROW with SAP is a relatively new offering, SAP may offer incentives to encourage adoption. This could be first-year discounts, extra BTP credits, or even a few months free. End of quarter or end of year is prime time – SAP sales teams have targets and might throw in bonuses if you sign before a deadline. Don’t be afraid to ask: “Are there any current promotions for new GROW customers?” Sometimes you can get a break, like a reduced rate for the first year or an extended payment schedule.
• Include Flexibility for Changes: Try to build in some flexibility. One tactic is negotiating the ability to true-down at renewal – e.g., if you overestimated and bought 25 users but only used 20, can you renew at the lower number without penalty? Also, ensure that any additional users you add mid-term are co-terminous (i.e., their fees are prorated to end with the contract) and at the same discounted rate. Clarity here will save headaches later.
• Understand the “All-In” Price: Make SAP break down the quote. Even if it’s a single bundle price, ask them to explain how much of the cost is for the core ERP, how much value they’ve attributed to Analytics Cloud, etc., and how much is services (if any). For GROW, they might say, “Well, infrastructure and basic support are included at no extra charge” – great, but ensure you’re not unknowingly paying for something unnecessary. Having a cost breakdown also empowers you in negotiations: if something looks overpriced (e.g,. maybe the Concur piece), you could push back and say you don’t need that now to see if they reduce the price or allow you to drop it.
• Optimize User License Types: As discussed in the user licensing section, make sure SAP isn’t counting everyone as a full FUE if they don’t need to. During negotiation, you can say, “We plan on 50 named users, but by SAP’s definitions, our total FUE is thirty because many are occasional users.” Provide SAP with your expected user profile mix and ensure they price it accordingly. This prevents over-charging if many of your users are light users.
• Benchmark Against Alternatives: Even if you’re pretty sure you want GROW, it never hurts to have competitive leverage. Consider what an alternative might cost (for example, another cloud ERP for SMBs, or even SAP’s RISE pricing for a similar size). If SAP knows you’re evaluating other options, they tend to be more flexible on price. Internally, do a quick total cost analysis: GROW subscription + partner implementation vs. say a competing solution (Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.). If GROW looks a bit high, share those concerns and competing quotes with SAP – they might sharpen their pencil to win the deal.
• Timing and End-of-Quarter Deals: SAP, like many vendors, has strong quarter-end and year-end sales pushes. If you can time your negotiation toward the end of Q4 (SAP’s fiscal year is the calendar year) or even the end of a quarter, you might catch a sales team eager to close. This is when offering extras or providing an unusually high discount is most likely to meet a quota. Of course, only do this if your project timeline allows a bit of flexibility on signing.
• Put Everything in Writing: Finally, ensure any promises or understandings are written into the contract or order form. If the sales rep “verbally” agrees to something like a future discount, that won’t hold water later. Get all negotiated terms documented: e.g., a rider that “Customer may add up to 20 additional FUEs at the same per-FUE price as initial purchase” or “Customer may upgrade to Premium edition in Year 2 at an incremental cost of $X per user”. It’s much easier to negotiate these before you sign than later when you have no leverage.

By approaching the purchase with a savvy negotiation strategy, even SMBs (yes, even smaller customers have some leverage!) can achieve a favorable deal with GROW on SAP.

Remember, SAP is investing in the long-term success of its cloud model – early customer success stories are valuable to them, so use that to your advantage to get the best possible terms.

Frequently Asked Questions about GROW with SAP

Q: Is GROW with SAP only for new SAP customers, or can existing SAP users adopt it?
A: GROW with SAP is primarily targeted at new SAP customers or those with no significant SAP footprint. It’s ideal for a “greenfield” implementation where you start fresh with SAP S/4HANA Cloud. If you’re an existing SAP ERP (ECC) customer, SAP typically steers you towards RISE with SAP or a Brownfield migration path. However, there are cases where an existing SAP customer (say, a smaller subsidiary of a big company) could use GROW for a quick deployment in a new division. Generally, though, GROW is marketed to folks who aren’t already tied into an SAP ECC system.

Q: How fast can we implement GROW with SAP?
A: Very fast compared to traditional SAP projects. SAP touts that with the pre-configured best practices and the Activate implementation methodology, you can go live in as little as 6–8 weeks for a relatively standard scope. Realistically, for an SMB with a focused scope, a few months (2–3 months) is achievable if you’re dedicated. This assumes you stick largely to SAP’s standard processes and don’t do heavy customization (which you shouldn’t be doing under GROW anyway). The implementation partner will conduct “fit-to-standard” workshops, load your master data, and train your key users, allowing you to get up and running. The speed is one of the big selling points – you start getting value from the system in a quarter rather than a year.

Q: What kind of support does SAP provide under GROW – do we need an IT team to maintain the system?
A: SAP handles the technical maintenance (running the servers, applying updates, backups, etc.) because it’s a cloud SaaS model. You won’t need a basis team or hardware admins on your side for the infrastructure. However, you will still need some IT involvement for business support: e.g., a business analyst or SAP power user who can configure minor changes, manage user access, handle day-to-day issues or enhancement requests, etc. If you have no IT staff, you might consider a support arrangement with your implementation partner or a third-party provider for ongoing assistance. But the heavy lifting (upgrades, patches, system uptime) is covered by SAP as part of the subscription.

Q: Can we customize the system under GROW with SAP?
A: GROW with SAP emphasizes a “clean core” – meaning you stick to standard capabilities and avoid custom modifications. The system is somewhat locked down compared to a private SAP deployment; you cannot alter core code or do extensive modifications. You can do limited extensions: SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) allows you to create side-by-side extensions or small apps that integrate with S/4HANA, and some of this capability is included via credits in the GROW package. You can also do configuration (every SAP project involves configuring the software to your business needs via the provided options). But if you require heavy customization, unique processes that aren’t supported out of the box, or niche third-party add-ons, GROW might be too restrictive. That’s when you’d consider a more flexible offering (like SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud or on-premise). For most standard SMB requirements, GROW’s approach works well and keeps things simple.

Q: What happens if we need to downsize or reduce users? Are we stuck paying for the whole contract?
A: Typically, you’re committed to the number of users (FUEs) and the term you signed up for. You can always not renew some users after your term ends, but during the term, you can’t usually reduce the count. In special situations (like you divest a part of the business), you might negotiate with SAP for a reduction, but that would be a contractual change at SAP’s discretion – it’s not standard. This is why right-sizing your initial commitment is important. Some contracts might allow a one-time reduction at renewal, or you could try to include a clause that provides some flexibility, but assume that you should commit only to what you need. The subscription is like a lease – you pay it in full for the duration, whether you fully utilize it or not.

Q: Are there any hidden costs with GROW with SAP?
A: Generally, no hidden costs in terms of SAP fees – the model prides itself on transparency. The subscription covers software, infrastructure, and standard support. However, from a total cost perspective, remember the additional costs outside of SAP’s subscription: implementation services (partner fees), any extra user training or change management efforts, and possibly integration costs if you need to connect SAP to other systems (though many standard integrations are available via SAP APIs). Also, if you decide to purchase add-ons like extra storage, premium support, or additional SAP cloud products, those come with their own fees. But SAP won’t, for instance, suddenly bill you for database usage or require you to license some technical component separately – that’s all included in the GROW subscription.

Q: How does GROW with SAP compare to RISE with SAP in pricing?
A: In a nutshell, GROW is generally cheaper in absolute terms for equivalent size because it’s a lighter offering. RISE with SAP is a bigger “transformation” bundle that includes more (full infrastructure control, broader tools, private cloud option, etc.), so it typically comes at a premium price. For example, a 50-user scenario might be $300k/year with GROW versus $400k/year under RISE, because RISE has additional overhead and services. GROW is meant to be cost-effective for the mid-market: clear, published (or at least standard) pricing tiers, whereas RISE is often fully custom-quoted for each customer. The trade-off is that RISE can accommodate more complex requirements. If your needs are straightforward, GROW will give you better bang for your buck. If you foresee needing lots of flexibility or added services, the higher cost of RISE might be justified. But for an SMB, GROW is usually the first thing to evaluate.

Q: We’re a growing company – what if we outgrow “GROW with SAP”?
A: It’s ironically named, but yes, you might eventually outgrow it! SAP intends for GROW to scale to a fairly substantial size (hundreds of users) as long as you adhere to standard processes. But if your business becomes very large or requires capabilities beyond what the public cloud edition can offer, you might graduate to a different SAP offering. This could involve transitioning to a private cloud deployment or to RISE with SAP for greater customization. The good news is SAP would help with that transition when the time comes (they’d rather keep you as a customer on a bigger package than lose you). From a contractual perspective, try to ensure any move like that can happen at a natural break (e.g., end of your term) so you’re not paying overlap. Also, architecturally, since S/4HANA Cloud (public) and S/4HANA (private or on-prem) share the same code base (mostly), moving up isn’t as daunting as migrating from an entirely different system. But it would still be a project. In summary, GROW can take you quite far, but it’s not limitless – there’s a point where a very large or complex organization will need more than it provides.

Read our larger, GROW with SAP FAQs – Implementation, Add-Ons, and Compliance Considerations.

Expert Recommendations for SMBs Considering GROW with SAP

In conclusion, GROW with SAP can be a fantastic way for SMBs to access top-tier ERP capabilities without breaking the bank.

Here are some final recommendations and takeaways to ensure success:

• Make Sure It Fits Your Needs: Choose GROW if you have relatively standard process needs and limited IT resources, and you’re okay with adopting SAP’s best practices. If your business is highly unique or already deeply invested in SAP customizations, GROW might not be the right fit. Align the solution with your complexity – standardization vs. customization is the key trade-off.
• Plan Your Total Budget (TCO): Don’t just look at the subscription fee – consider the total cost of ownership. GROW’s subscription is only one part; add in estimated implementation costs, any additional support you might need, and so on. Still, when you compare it to on-premise, you’ll likely find that the TCO over 3-5 years is favorable, as you avoid hardware, maintenance, and major upgrade projects. Run the numbers to be sure this cloud model makes financial sense versus alternatives.
• Negotiate Smartly: Use the negotiation tips provided. Even as an SMB, you can secure better pricing and terms by being informed and proactive. SAP expects some negotiation. Focus on locking in multi-year predictability (caps on increases), getting a fair discount off list, and ensuring flexibility to grow. Remember to ask for any SMB incentives – SAP wants success stories in this space.
• Involve Stakeholders Early: This is more about ensuring success in implementation – involve your key users and IT folks early in the project. GROW implementations are fast, which is great, but that means your team needs to be ready to adapt to SAP’s processes quickly. Strong executive sponsorship (CFO/CIO backing) and change management will go a long way. The faster you implement, the more standard you stay; ensure the business is on board with this approach.
• Monitor Usage and Value: Once you’re live, keep an eye on license usage and business value. Make sure you’re using what you pay for – if you have unused licenses, plan to reassign or reduce at renewal. Leverage the tools SAP provides (analytics, etc.) to get continuous value. Part of the promise of cloud is continuous improvement (quarterly updates bringing new features). As an SMB, take advantage of those innovations; they’re included in what you’re paying.
• Plan for the Future: Have a roadmap. Perhaps today you just need a core ERP, but in two years, you may want to add an e-commerce frontend or advanced supply chain planning capabilities. Knowing your likely growth path can influence how you negotiate the contract (e.g., include those anticipated additions in discussions). GROW with SAP is meant to be a starting point – think of it as laying a foundation that you can build on. If you anticipate needing more, communicate that with SAP; they might provide trial licenses or favorable quotes for future phases as part of the initial deal.

By following these recommendations, CFOs and CIOs can ensure that adopting GROW with SAP is not only a cost-effective licensing decision but also a strategic win for the company.

You’ll get a modern cloud ERP up and running quickly, with predictable costs and the scalability to support your business as it… Well, grows. Enjoy the journey with your new SAP system, and always keep a sharp eye on your contract and usage to maximize the value from SAP’s offerings. Good luck!

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